Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and written by Ahrens, the film stars Kelsey Grammer, Jesse L. Martin, Jane Krakowski, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Geraldine Chaplin, and Jason Alexander.

He refuses a request from recently widowed Mr. Smythe and his daughter Grace to pay for Mrs. Smythe's funeral, voicing his support for the prisons and workhouses for the poor, and reluctantly accepts his loyal but meek employee Bob Cratchit's (who is the constant target of his cruelty) request to have Christmas Day off, since there will be no business for Scrooge on the day.

In his house, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased long time friend and business partner, Jacob Marley.

His father, John William, was sent to prison for unpaid debts and his mother died shortly after, which saw he and his sister Fan separated.

Seeing the death date on his grave is that day, Scrooge vows to change his ways and is surrounded by the Cratchits, Grace and the spirits of his mother and sister, who all encourage him to feel love and compassion again.

Finding it is Christmas Day, a gleeful Scrooge ventures out to spread happiness and joy throughout London, once again encountering the lamp-lighter, newspaper seller, and blind woman—who are actually the three Ghosts in their human forms—and thanks them.

Lyricist Lynn Ahrens wrote the teleplay, based on her and Mike Ockrent's book for the original Madison Square Garden stage musical.

The scene where Scrooge's long-suffering employee Bob Cratchit buys a Christmas chicken with his son Tiny Tim in the song "You Mean More to Me" appears as well.

The Ghost of Christmas Past sings "The Lights of Long Ago", a number reinforcing her signature theme of illuminating Scrooge's worldview.

The former takes place at a fantastical version of the charity show he was seen promoting on Christmas Eve, and the latter whisks Scrooge on a tour of London that includes the homes of his nephew Fred, his clerk Bob Cratchit, and the innocent daughter of Smythe, a recently widowed client of Scrooge's lending house.

"What a Day, What a Sky" serves as a musical bookend to "Nothing to Do With Me", dramatizing Scrooge's new outlook as he races through the streets of London making amends.

Brian Lowry of Variety called the film the 37th-best production of A Christmas Carol, and the third-best musical version behind Albert Finney in Scrooge and Mr. Magoo.

Despite his mixed feelings about the acting of Kelsey Grammer and Jason Alexander, Lowry praised the performances of Jane Krakowski and Jesse L.

But it is fun, it will amuse whilst also uplift and thanks to some nice performances from the likes of Kelsey Grammer it will stay with you for a while unlike some other adaptations of "A Christmas Carol".